From Cowbells to Heat Exchangers: Eino Talsi 70 years

During World War II Finland was burdened with two wars against the Soviet Union (1939-1940 and 1941-1944) and the deportation of Germans from Lapland (1945). These events together with the war reparations to Soviet Union stretched our nation to its limits. Homes were needed for the Karelian immigrants and the soldier returning from war.

But there was also a flip side to all this. Along with sacrifices came new opportunities. The metal and engineering industry had been very moderate before the war. Now Soviet Union demanded most of the reparations to be paid as metal products. Production had to be expanded significantly and this meant investments to new machinery and to new know-how.

Mr Eino Talsi

Different kinds of financial arrangements were made to ease the housing shortage. For example, private companies built houses for their employees. The scarcity of building material was a problem. Almost everything from wood and nails to radiators was lacking and most homes did not have the basic necessities or furniture. As an answer to these needs Eino Talsi was founded 5.1.1945. The founder, Eino Talsi himself was a clever man with many ideas and knowledge about metal.

Eino Talsi and Finnish president Kekkonen

Eino Talsi was resourceful and used all sorts of metal scrap to make different kinds of home utilities. When everything was scarce, he was forced to be a pioneer for using recycled material. He made mattocks and ammunition from iron beds, shovels from metal sheets and cake tins from canisters. Recycled material was used to make cowbells, nails, locks, clothing racks and even roofs. At one time, Eino Talsi was confronted by the police for receiving a large amount of tin that actually belonged to the government. Fortunately he was able to prove that he had in fact legally purchased the tin and the misunderstanding was rectified.

When the reparations had been paid, the standard of living increased and economical regulation subsided. This meant, that Eino Talsi had to change its earning logic. In 1970 the company started to manufacture finned tube radiators used for heating in industrial settings. Slowly Eino Talsi built a customer base from wood-, paper- chemistry- and food industry and from workshops and construction companies.

The structure of a finned tube is simple. It consists of the tube and surrounding fins. Its purpose is to release a lot heat. The simple structure means it is virtually maintenance free and easy to keep clean.

Men at work.

Today, Eino Talsi manufactures also economizers and air preheaters. The products are used to improve energy efficiency, to minimize energy waste and to save costs. Eino Talsi economizers and air preheaters have been delivered to many power plants and factories both in Finland and around the globe all the way to Indonesia.​